1. Field of the Invention
Systems and methods consistent with the principles of the invention relate generally to data transfer and, more particularly, to automatic provisioning of data flows.
2. Description of Related Art
An ATM segmentation and reassembly (SAR) unit reassembles cells into packets according to an ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL). This task involves maintaining a per packet context and associating each arriving cell with that context. The SAR does this across multiple flows and ports. Generally, each flow is configured per port prior to the SAR receiving any cells. It is possible, however, for cells to arrive at the SAR for flows that have not yet been configured. A mechanism typically either discards the cells or forwards the cells to a processor for analysis. In either event, this may lead to the dropping of potentially important packets.